Minnesota Wild: Ryan Suter 'getting better and better,' coach says

Minnesota Wild defenseman Ryan Suter, despite playing two game suffering from the after-effects of food poisoning, has been playing better each game with his new team, Wild coach Mike Yeo says. (Pioneer Press: Sherri LaRose-Chiglo)

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Ryan Suter was so sick earlier this week that he needed IV fluids before the Wild's home games against Columbus and Chicago.

In fact, he said, he felt so weak that he wished he would have taken IV fluids during the games.

Yet Suter played 24 minutes, 31 seconds against the Blue Jackets and 30:17 against the Blackhawks the next night -- and Minnesota won both to take a 4-2-1 record into its game against the Anaheim Ducks on Friday, Feb. 1, at Honda Center.

"He's a warrior," Wild coach Mike Yeo said before the game against the Ducks. "That's one thing I love about the guy; he's a throwback, a guy who just absolutely loves to play and no excuses for him. To see how well he played regardless of the condition he was in was great, and to do it on top of that was phenomenal."

Suter, who has gotten a bit of a bad rap for his minus-5 status in the plus-minus numbers through the early games, has not looked like anything but a plus-player to Yeo.

"His last couple of games have been so good," Yeo said. "I thought that even before that he was really starting to find his game. Every game has been getting better and better, and I thought the last two games he was great."

Suter said he picked up a case of food poisoning during Minnesota's visit to St. Louis a week ago. He threw up on the plane on the way home and got no sleep after returning to his Twin Cities home.

"Tough day on Monday," he said Friday.

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"Started to feel better yesterday."

Asked if he considered sitting out, he shook his head.

"You can battle through that," he said. "It makes you better. I think when you go through things like that, you start focusing more on the basics and the rest will come. I think that's what's going on."

Suter said he attempts to ignore negative publicity that comes his way.

"Obviously, people have their opinions," he said. "You don't want to be minus. You'd rather be plus and have no points than be minus and have 30 points; minus always looks bad on you. But we'll get it turned around."

Suter led the Wild in ice time through Minnesota's first seven games with an average of 27:38 and had four assists.

He confessed that it took him awhile to begin to fit into the Wild's system after playing his entire career in Nashville.

"I feel like I've been playing well since Game 3," he said. "I just wasn't getting breaks. You have to get breaks. Guys are too good in the league to think that you can just go out; you have to get breaks here and there."

Yeo talks about the little things done by Suter, who signed a 13-year, $98 million contract with Minnesota in July, such as breaking the puck out of the Wild's zone and keeping it into the opposition zone.

"When we get the puck, we've got to do something with it," Yeo said, "and he's one of those guys that leads the way. You look at the speed that we're able to generate coming through the neutral zone, and that's a direct result of him and how he plays."

Briefly

The Wild were scheduled to go on the ice for their morning skate Friday at 11:15 a.m. PST, but the Zamboni had not yet resurfaced the ice at that point. Yeo skated over and had a word with the driver when he drove onto the rink at 11:19. Asked if the Ducks were exhibiting a little gamesmanship, Yeo smiled and said, "Maybe." ... Defenseman Jared Spurgeon missed his fifth game because of a bruised foot but took part in the morning skate and said he's "getting close." ... Defenseman Nate Prosser and forward Matt Kassian were the Wild's healthy scratches.